Pearl Harbor survivors, Ken Stevens, 102, of Powers, Ore.,
left, and Ira "Ike" Schab, 104, of Beaverton, Ore., wait for
the start of the 83rd Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
ceremony, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Mengshin Lin)

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (AP) — Ira “Ike” Schab, a 104-year-old
Pearl Harbor attack survivor, spent six weeks in physical therapy
to build the strength to stand and salute during a remembrance ceremony honoring those killed in the Japanese bombing that
thrust the U.S. into World War II some 83 years ago.

On Saturday, Schab gingerly rose from his wheelchair and raised
his right hand, returning a salute delivered by sailors standing
on a destroyer and a submarine passing by in the harbor.

“He’s been working hard because this is his goal,” said his
daughter, Kimberlee Heinrichs, who traveled to Hawaii with
Schab from their Beaverton, Oregon, home so they could
attend the ceremony. “He wanted to be able to stand for that.”

The USS Arizona Memorial is seen before a ceremony to
mark the 83rd anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024, in Honolulu.
(AP Photo/Mengshin Lin)

The number of Pearl  Harbor  survivors has
now dwindled to 16 living.